Ariz. man faces fraud charges in Poland, Boardman

BOARDMAN — A man arrested by Poland Township police in connection with a fraudulent check-cashing scheme faces additional charges out of Boardman, according to a police report.

Township police on Monday served Mario Vega, 24, of Arizona, with warrants for theft by deception, passing bad checks, telecommunications fraud, forgery and possession of criminal tools, according to the report.

Vega and three other men were arrested at a PNC Bank branch in Poland on Thursday. Poland Township police said the men were suspected of using the identities of PNC Bank customers in Pennsylvania and Ohio to cash fraudulent checks. Police said they caught Vega in the Poland branch, and caught the three others in a vehicle outside the bank.

The charges out of Boardman also stem from an incident from Thursday, according to a report.

A teller at a PNC Bank on Market Street told police Vega cashed a check for $2,910 at the bank Thursday. According to the report, the money came from a customer’s account, and Vega used a New Jersey license and credit card as identification.

Both cards had the same name, and are “now believed to be fraudulent with stolen identities,” police said. Vega is in the Mahoning County jail.